History of Northumbria: Anglo-Saxon era 450AD-866AD

Romans Depart

For three and a half centuries Britain was under Roman rule.
The Romans built roads, towns, forts and temples, bringing with them
soldiers and cultures from across Europe. They conquered the native
'Celtic' tribes of Britain and established military control in the
North with the construction of Hadrian's Wall and the huge legionary
fortress at York. In the reign of Constantine the Great, they also
brought Christianity. Constantine, who was proclaimed Emperor at no
less a place than York, would himself become the first Emperor to
convert to Christianity.

By 314 York was one of a number of important places in the
Roman empire with a Christian bishop. Christianity was however, only
one of a number of religions accepted within the Roman empire and it is
not known how many Britons were actually Christians. The native people
of Britain were ancient Britons, speaking a Celtic language resembling
Welsh, but of course many would also learn to speak the Latin of the
Romans. Many of these people continued to practice their native Celtic
'pagan' religions, while others may have adopted more exotic religions
introduced from other parts of the Roman empire. One thing is certain
however, in 300 years of occupation the Britons had intermixed with the
multicultural Romans to form a 'Romano-British' society, quite
different from the Celtic culture of pre-Roman times.

In the vicinity of Roman forts, native Britons intermarried
with Roman soldiers enlisted from far flung corners of the Roman empire
like Iraq or North Africa. At Housesteads on the Roman Wall, they may
even have intermarried with members of the Roman garrison of
Anglo-Saxon soldiers stationed at that particular fort. But we should
remember that these Anglo-Saxons were not yet native to our shores and
originated from the Germanic lands of the continent.

By 399 AD, three and half centuries of Roman rule in Britain
were drawing to an end as the Romans commenced the removal of their
troops from Britain. Attacks on Rome by the Visigoths from eastern
Europe meant that reinforcements were desperately needed elsewhere and
the Romans could no longer hold on to Britain as a military province.
In the North of Britain, the depletion of the Roman army left the
northern frontier of Hadrian's Wall severely exposed and revolts
against the small scattering of Romans who remained soon gained
momentum.

ANGLO-SAXONS

Virtually all Roman troops had departed from Britain by 410
AD, leaving our shores and internal borders defenceless. The north was
particularly vulnerable to attack, not just from Picts and Scots in the
north, but from Anglo-Saxon raiders from across the North Sea. These
Germanic raiders consisted of two main groups, the Angles (or Anglians)
from what is now the border of Germany and Denmark (Schleswig Hosltein)
and the Saxons from what is now Northern Germany.

During the later centuries of Roman occupation, the Romans
had built several defensive watch towers along the coast to defend
against the Anglo-Saxon raiders. In the north, examples could be found
at Scarborough, Goldsborough, Filey and Saltburn, but there were almost
certainly others. When Roman rule came to an end the Anglo-Saxons no
doubt continued to raid the coast but some found themselves employed by
the native Britions as mercenaries to defend Britain against the Scots
and Picts. Many Anglo-Saxons were given land in Britain as a return for
their protection, but it became increasingly apparent to the new
settlers, that Britain was now a vulnerable province that was there for
the taking.

The Angles had begun to invade and settle all parts our
eastern shores, seizing the region they called East Anglia by 440,
along with Lincolnshire and regions further inland. It is likely that
the North East was already under attack or at least bracing itself for
invasion, but some aspects of the Roman way of life still persisted. It
is known, for example, that in 445 AD, Newcastle upon Tyne was still
known by its Roman name of Pons Aelius - the site of a fort adjoining a
bridge over the Tyne.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

By 450 AD, the Angles had begun their invasion of the north,
colonising land in the Yorkshire Wolds, just to the north of the Humber
in a land they called Deira. This name was probably an adapatation of
an exisiting Celtic tribal region or kingdom. Gradually the Angles
would invade territory further north and began settling the lowland
river valleys of the east coast including possibly the Tyne, Wear and
Tees. Excavations at Norton on Teesside, have revealed evidence of
Anglo-Saxon settlement in this early period. It is also possible that
one group of Angles from Lincolnshire - a region then known as Lindis
feorna (later Lindsey) colonised and named the island we know today as
Lindisfarne. Lindisfarne was certainly known in early times as Lindis
feorna.

Much further south on the southern shores of Britain, the
Saxons were settling and establishing new kingdoms like Essex, Sussex
and Wessex, whilst a similar Germanic people called the Jutes were
colonising Kent and the Isle of Wight. There was of course native
British resistance to their attacks and it is recorded that the
Britons heavily defeated the Anglo-Saxon invaders at a Battle
located at some identified spot called Mons Badonicus or Badon Hill.

The early Anglo-Saxon period was undoubtedly an age of war
and turmoil and our knowledge of this period is scanty. It is this
early age of Anglo-Saxon invasion that is often associated with King
Arthur, a Briton who is said to have fought against the Anglo-Saxons.
He is reputed to have died in 537, perhaps on the Roman Wall, but
little can be said of Arthur, since so little is known. He may not have
existed at all. Although the story of Arthur is fascinating, to give too much attention to a shadowy figure like
Arthur, himself largely a creation of later Medieval writers would give
a distorted and unreliable view of this early period of Anglo-Saxon history.
Arthur's story is largely
the stuff of Romantic fiction of a much later medieval period and can cast doubt, quite wrongly, on the whole
Anglo-Saxon period that follows. The so called 'Age of Arthur' is one
period of British history about which we know very, very little and yet
so much has been written, perhaps because it stretches the imaginations
of writers.

Our limited knowledge of this early period has led to the
term 'Dark Ages' but it would be quite wrong to apply this term to the
whole Anglo-Saxon age, since the Anglo-Saxon era is in fact a period
about which we know a great deal. However, in the earliest period of
Anglo-Saxon history it is very much a case of history's gradual
emergence from darkness.

One important clue to the early settlement of Anglo-Saxons is
in place names, as most of the place names of our region and indeed of
England as a whole, are of Anglo-Saxon origin and often tell us the
names and activities of the first Anglo-Saxon settlers. Significantly,
almost all places ending in 'ton' or 'ham' are of Anglo-Saxon origin,
but there are many other types of Anglo-Saxon place names. Interstingly
the original Celtic and Romano-Celtic places names are very rare in
England.

We know, that before the Anglo-Saxons arrived, the North
East, like the rest of Britain was occupied by the descendants of the
Romanised Celts and earlier peoples. In the far north, one group of
these Celtic people had developed into a tribal kingdom called the
Goddodin in the Lothians with their tribal fort and capital located at
Din Eidyn (Edinburgh). The Goddodin are thought to have been the
descendants of the Votadini, a tribe that inhabited this territory
along with Northumberland in the early days of the Roman invasion. In
538 AD the Gododdin were not yet under siege from the Anglo-Saxons but
they were defeated in a great battle at Edinburgh after an onslaught by
the Caledonians, a massive confederation of highland tribes from
northern Scotland.

BERNICIA AND DEIRA

The most important date in this otherwise dark period of
nortern history was 547 AD. In this year, the ancient British coastal
stronghold of Din Guyaroi (Bamburgh) on the North East coast was seized
by the Angle chief called Ida the Flamebearer. His seizure of this
important British stronghold was an important event in the Angles'
political and military seizure of the North. It is is a year often
regarded as the first real date in the history of the kingdom that
would come to be known as Northumbria. It is likely that Ida already
had a foothold in the Tyne, Wear and Tees region, but the populous
native British lands in the vicinity of Din Guyaroi (or Din Guaire) were an important
addition to Ida's expanding Kingdom of Bernicia. The name of this
emerging kingdom, was like Deira, probably an adaptation of an existing
Celtic name and would come to be synonymous with the North Eastern
region in the centuries to come.

Ida had conquered huge areas of land in the North East by 550
including some territory south of the Tees. He was now undisputedly the
most powerful leader in the northern Angle Land (later England) and Din Guyaroi or Bamburgh was the capital of his kingdom. In 560 he was
succeeded by his son Theodoric, whose domain was confined to Bernicia,
north of the Tees, but some of the remaining Celtic kingdoms that
existed in the north, saw him as a weaker leader than his father and
refused to accept his rule.

Meanwhile, in the Yorkshire Wolds (known to the Angles as
Deira) an Anglian chief called Aelle was rising to power and conducting
his people against the native Britons. Aelle can be regarded as the
first king of Deira. Rivalry between Deira and Bernicia would be a long
running feature of Anglo-Saxon history in the north. However, the
native Celts were not yet completely subdued. Urien, the leader of the
British kingdom of Rheged (based in Cumbria) was determined to fight
for the Celtic cause. In 575 AD, he besieged King Theodoric of Bernicia
on the island of Lindisfarne in a siege that lasted three days, but
victory could not be claimed.

The island of Lindisfarne, in close proximity to the
Bernician capital of Bamburgh seems to have been an important location
in the early battles between Britons and Angles in the North. Little is
known of this period but it was on Lindisfarne in 590 AD that Urien of
Rheged would meet his end fighting against the Anglo-Saxons. It is
thought that he was betrayed by Morgan, a leader of the Goddodin tribe
from north of the Tweed.

KING AETHELFRITH

In 593, Aethelfrith, the grandson of Ida the Flamebearer,
became the new King of Bernicia in the North-East of England. Without a
formidable, like Urien, his power seemed assured even in the Celtic
regions. In 598 Aethelfrith's men heavily defeated the native Britons
in a great battle at Catterick. Here was located the ancient British
kingdom called Catraeth centred on the Tees and Swale. The battle was
the result of a major campaign and a huge army of Britons had marched
there after assembling at Edinburgh. The Britons included the people of
Gododdin, Rheged and Northern Wales. It was as if the Britons were
engaging in a last stand against the Anglo-Saxons. But they were
heavily defeated by Aethelfrith. The kingdom of Catraeth was seized.

Aethelfrith's power was now beyond dispute and the Celts were
forced to accept his rule. That is not to say that large areas of the
north instantly became Anglo-Saxon. The settlement of Anglo-Saxons was
extensive, but Celts were still predominant in Cumbria, the Pennines,
the Celtic Kingdoms of Loidis (Leeds), Elmet and Meicen (in Hatfield,
the marshy country near Doncaster).

In 603 Aethelfrith turned his attention to the Celts of the
far north, going into battle with Aidan MacGabrain, King of the
Dalriada Scots. The Dalriada Scots lived in western Caledonia but
originated from Hibernia (Ireland). During the battle, the Scots were
assisted by a large force of Ulstermen, but were defeated in battle at
Degastan, an unknown location, possibly in Liddesdale. Aethelfrith's
victory forced the Kingdoms of Strathclyde in the west, Rheged in
Cumbria and Gododdin in the Lothians to recognise Bernician superiority
once again. With his power and prestige assured Aethelfrith usurped the
crown of Deira in Yorkshire. He thus became King of both Deira and
Bernicia, uniting all the Angle territory north of the River Humber
into one kingdom called Northumbria. Bernicia and Deira were reduced to
mere sub kingdoms.

Of course there were many in Deira who disliked Bernician
rule, so Aethelfrith encouraged Deiran support by marrying Acha, a
member of the Deiran royal family. It was unlikely to stop Acha's
brother Edwin from claiming the kingdom of Deira but it was too
dangerous for Edwin to remain in Northumbria and he sought protection
at the court of King Cearl of Mercia (an Angle kingdom based in the
Midlands). Edwin's presence in Mercia was a constant threat to
Aethelfrith.

In 615, the Bernician capital Din Guyaroi, was renamed
Bebbanburgh in honour of Bebba, Aethelfrith's new wife. The name meant
the fort of Bebba, but it would gradually come to be pronounced
Bamburgh. This was perhaps one of many Celtic place names that were
replaced by Anglo-Saxon names in this period and may reflect the
gradual replacement of Celtic with Anglo-Saxon speech. It seemed that
the native Celts were no longer the major threat to the expansion of
the Angles and Aethelfrith for one was now preoccupied with defeating
his Anglian rival.

Later in 615 AD, he ousted King Cearl from the Kingdom of
Mercia and took virtual control of the midland kingdom, although he
employed a Mercian to look after Northumbrian interests here. Edwin,
Aethefrith's major Northumbria rival fled from Mercia and took refuge
with the King of East Anglia. Edwin was still a threat to Aethelfrith,
but a seemingly more distant one and it seemed there would be no end to
Aethelfrith's expansion. In 615, Aethelfrith defeated the Welsh in
battle at Chester and once again seized Cumbria, bringing it firmly
under Northumbria rule. It was a significant event as it isolated the
Britons of North Wales from those of Strathclyde and the Lothians,
although that is not to say that the Britons were exterminated in the
District of the Lakes.

However, Aethelfrith's expansion would not remain unchecked
forever. In 616 he finally met his end in battle against Raedwald King
of East Anglia at Bawtry on the River Idle. This site lies close to the
present borders of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. In
Aethelfrith's time this area lay on the southern reaches of
Northumbria, a dangerous marshy region close to the border with Lindsey
and easily accessible from the East Anglian kingdom.

KING EDWIN

Upon Aethelfrith's death, Edwin, son of Aelle and prince of
Deira seized the Northumbrian kingdom. A Deiran was now in charge of
the Northumbrian kingdom, but there was still rivalry between Deiran
and Bernician factions. The Bernician claimant was Aethelfrith's son
Prince Oswald, who fled from Northumbria for safety. Oswald took refuge
on the island monastery of Iona off the western Scottish coast.
Political expansion and victory in battle was a necessary part of being
an Anglo-Saxon king if he wished to gain support and respect and this
was as true for Edwin as it had beeen for Aethelfrith.

Much of Edwin's early military activity seems to have
concentrated on the southern borders of Northumbria where there was
still strong Celtic influence. Around 626 he evicted a client king
called Ceretic from the ancient British kingdom of Elmet near Leeds and
followed this with the capture of the Celtic kingdom of Meicen
(Hatfield) near Doncaster. His expansion also extended south into the
Angliankingdom of Lindsey (Lincolnshire).

Since Edwin already had control over much of the land
acquired by Aethelfrith, Edwin's power in the north was unequalled by
any Anglian predecessor. But power and expansion naturally aroused
jealousy and fear amongst rivals including Cuichelm, King of the West
Saxons. In 626 Cuichelm sent north an assassin called Eumer, who
attempted to kill Edwin as he celebrated the Pagan festival of Easter
at his royal palace somewhere close to the River Derwent on the edge of
the Yorkshire wolds. The assassin entered the King's court and asked to
speak with the king on the pretence of having an important message from
the West Saxon King. On seeing the king, Eumer produced a poisoned
dagger from beneath his cloak with which he attempted to stab Edwin.
Fortunately one of Edwin's men, Lillam jumped in the way and suffered a
blow from which he was killed. A fight followed in which Edwin was
injured but Eumer was eventually put to death. On the same night of the
assasination attempt King Edwin's queen, Ethelburga gave birth. Angered
by the assasination attempt, Edwin sought revenge and defeated the West
Saxons in a great battle in Wessex. As a result Edwin proclaimed
himself 'overking' of all England.

EDWIN'S CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY

Until this point, all the Northumbrian kings, including Edwin,
had been solidly Pagan in their outlook, but this was about to change.
Edwin had already formed an important alliance with the Kingdom of
Kent, an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom that had converted to Christianity through
the influence of St Augustine. In 625 a marriage had been arranged
between Edwin and the Christian Princess of Kent called Ethelberga.
Edwin was already considering his own conversion to Christianity and
Edwin took the opportunity to attribute his victory in Wessex to the
new Christian faith.

On April 11 627, Edwin converted to Christianity, undertaking
a baptism at York performed by a Roman missionary called Paulinus. The
ceremony took place in a new, wooden church dedicated to St Peter. This
humble little building was the predecessor of York Minster. Coifi, the
Pagan high priest under Edwin, followed the king's example and he too
converted to Christianity. To demonstrate his new faith Coifi destroyed
the great heathen temple of Goodmanham near the River Derwent in East
Yorkshire.

Paulinus was appointed as Bishop of York, a post redundant
since Roman times. He travelled throughout Northumbria converting
Edwin's people at important locations associated with the Royal
household. He is said to have baptised thousands of Northumbrians in
the Swale near Catterick and in the River Glen near Yeavering.

At Yeavering the outline of one Edwin's Royal Palaces can
still be seen in the fields. It is only visible from the air but
includes the clear outline of several buildings including a great hall
and an auditorium. It is thought that Northumbrians assembled here to
hear the words of influential speakers. Perhaps Edwin and Paulinus
addressed an audience on this spot. Interestingly the palace lies at
the foot of a prominent hill called Yeavering Bell, itself the site of
a large Celtic fort. Was this perhaps one of many locations where
Celtic and Anglian cultures merged together. Perhaps some of the Celtic
peoples of the region had even held onto Christian beliefs since Roman
times and it is just possible that in some cases Paulinus was preaching
to the converted.

It is very tempting to look for the continuous presence of
Christianity in England since Roman times. It may be significant that
York, so closely associated with the great Christian Emperor
Constantine and the site of a Roman bishopric was chosen by Edwin as
the centre for his Christian activity. The new wooden minster built by
Edwin at York lay within what had been the headquarters building of the
Roman legionary fortress. In 628 AD Edwin rebuilt the church of St
Peter's in stone and he may have used rubble from the Roman fortess in
its construction. Anglo-Saxon churches certainly made use of Roman
stone as is demonstrated by the Anglo-Saxon church at Escomb in County
Durham. Of course it is also known for certain, that the very name of
the minster at York - its dedication to St Peter - was chosen to
reflect its links with St Peter's in Rome. The church was given sealed
approval by the Pope.

It would be wrong, however, to assume that Roman Christianity
was now firmly re-established in the north. Its future was only assured
as long as Edwin remained in power. On October 12, 633, Edwin was
killed. As with Aethelfrith, Edwin's death took place in a battle
within the marshy low country near Doncaster. On this occasion the
battle was at Heathfield (or Hatfield) where Edwin's forces were
crushed by the Mercians in alliance with the Welsh. The Mercians fought
under the leadership of a chieftain called Penda and the Welsh assisted
under the their king Caedwalla. Osric, a possible successor to Edwin
was also killed in the battle whilst Edwin's son Edfrith surrendered.

Penda was appointed King of the Mercians and along with his
Welsh ally Caedwalla could now claim to be one of the most powerful
kings in the north. Caedwalla had his eye on Northumbrian territory and
claimed the throne of Deira. It may sound sound strange that a Welshman
would claim Anglian territory in Yorkshire, but many parts of this
region will have still encompassed Welsh speaking territory and peoples
particularly in the Pennines and in the former Celtic kingdoms near
Leeds and Doncaster.

So what was the future for Christianity in the North? In
Bernicia, Eanfrith, the pagan son of Aethelfrith was crowned King of
the Northumbrians and those who had converted to Christianity during
Edwin's reign may have thought it wise to revert to Eanfrith's Pagan
ways. St Paulinus, the Christian Bishop of York returned to Kent.

KING OSWALD

There was still hope for the Christian cause. In 634 Eanfrith
was killed by his younger brother Oswald, who had returned from his
exile on the Christian island of Iona. Oswald became King. The
following year Oswald heavily defeated Penda and Caedwalla in battle at
Heavenfield just to the south of Hexham. The event resulted in
Caedwalla's death. Oswald's victory over Penda at the Battle of
Heavenfield made him the undisputed overking (or Bretwalda) of England.
This was a title that had also been held by Edwin, but was more of a
recognised status of 'top king' than an absolute king of all England.
Oswald attributed his victory at Heavenfield to the work of God. As an
expriment he had asked his men to pray to God prior to the battle and
was now convinced that the Christian faith had brought him victory.

Oswald was determined to continue the reintroduction of
Christianity to the North East and employed St Aidan, an Irish monk
from the Scottish island of Iona to convert his people. This would,
however, be a Celtic Christianity, different to the Roman style of
Christianity introduced by Edwin and Paulinus. Aidan, perhaps trying to
recreate the atmosphere of Iona, chose Lindisfarne as the centre for
his bishopric and established a monastery on the island. He was the
first Bishop of Lindisfarne.

Other monasteries would follow and in 640 a monastery was
established on the coastal headland at Hartlepool by Hieu an Irish
princess who became the first abbess there. Like Lindisfarne this too,
had an island like location, as the Hartlepool headland was virtually
cut off from the mainland. Further south York's Christian credentials
were not forgotten and in 642 AD Oswald completed the work begun by
King Edwin on St Peter's Minster church. Also in Yorkshire Lastingham
Priory established in 654 by St Cedd.

One lesser known monastic site of the period was Gateshead.
This was known to the Anglo-Saxons as 'Goat's Head' as translated from
Bede's Latin name for the site 'Ad Caprae Caput'. Little is known about
the monastery her except that it was under the jurisdiction of an abbot
called Uttan in 653. The name Goat's Head may have been taken from some
kind of totem or emblem, perhaps of Roman origin, that may have existed
on the Roman Tyne Bridge.

Christianity did not of course bring an end to Northumbria's
political expansion. In 638, the Lothian region was besieged by Oswald
who brought it under Northumbrian control. Din Eidyn, once the chief
fortress of the Gododdin, was brought under Northumbrian control and it
was the Northumbrians that gave the fortress its Anglian name
'Edinburgh', perhaps in an attempt to associate it with king Edwin. The
'burgh' in Edinburgh is certainly an Anglian word and means
'stronghold'. Extensive Northumbrian-Anglian settlement must have taken
place here since most of the place names in this region are still
Anglo-Saxon to this day. Interestingly the form of English spoken in
Scotland would also develop from the Northumbria-Angle speech
introduced to the Lothians rather than the earlier Welsh-Celtic type of
language spoken by the Gododdin or the Gaelic type of Celtic language
spoken by the Scots.

There was to be no peaceful break from military conflict in
the North and it seemed certain that Oswald would eventually, like his
predecessors, lose his life on the battlefield. And so it was on August
5, 642 AD, Oswald, King of Northumbria died in battle at Maserfelth
against Penda of Mercia. The location of the battle is uncertain, with
the two main suggestions being Makerfield in Lancashire or Oswestry in
Shropshire.

KING OSWY

Oswald was succeeded by his brother Oswy in Bernicia (the
North East region north of the Tees) and by a rival called Oswine in
Deira (Yorkshire). This meant that Northumbria was split into two parts
once again. The split weakened the kingdom and Penda of Mercia took the
opportunity to seize certain Northumbrian lands in Deira, Lincolnshire
and Elmet near Leeds. Oswine of Deira was now under threat from all
sides and was eventually murdered after backing down from military
confrontation with Oswy at Wilfar's Hill near Catterick. Oswine's
hiding place at Gilling was discovered by one of Oswy's men.

So Oswy seized the Deiran crown, making his claim on the
strength of his marriage to Eanfled, daughter of the late King Edwin.
So Northumbria was once again united. Ethelwald, the son of the late
King Oswald was employed by Oswy to take care of the king's affairs in
Deira, but he betrayed Oswy, siding with Penda of Mercia in an attack
in 653. This attack that took the raiders as far north as Bamburgh.

War raged between Mercia and Northumbria and on November 15,
655, the Mercians and Welsh were defeated in a great battle. Its
location is not certain, but the battle is described as being near the
River Winwaed. The river is unidentified so its name must have changed
at some later point in time, but it is generally agreed that it was
somehwere near Leeds. It was a very important battle since Penda, the
King of Mercia and thirty enemy chieftains were killed. Many of the
Mercians were drowned in the river as they tried to escape.

Oswy's victory placed him in a position of great prominence
in England. Not only was he now the undisputed King of Northumbria but
he was also proclaimed 'Bretwalda' - the 'top king' of all England.
Oswy's control of Deira was assured but now he also had a say in
Mercian affairs, appointing Penda's son Peada (after whom Peterborough
is named) as King of Mercia south of the Trent. Oswy seized northern
Mercia for himself.

SAINT WILFRID

The defeat and death of King Penda of Mercia at the Battle of
Winwaed in 655 seemed to mark the beginning of a new period of
Northumbrian greatness. It was certainly an age of important Christian
developments in the region. The establishment of new monasteries
continued, such as that at Ripon founded in 657 by Irish monks from
Melrose. At around the same time St Hilda, abbess of Hartlepool founded
a monastery at Streanashalch (Whitby).

This was also a period of great debate about the kind of
Christianity that should be practised in the North. In the reign of
Edwin, Roman Christianity had been introduced to the North, but during
Oswald's reign a Celtic form of Christianity was preferred. This meant
that Northumbria was out of touch with the rest of England and Europe.

In the year 664 a great synod was held at Whitby to discuss
the controversy regarding the timing of the Easter festival. Much
dispute had arisen between the practices of the Celtic church in
Northumbria and the beliefs of the Roman church. The main supporters of
the Celtic Christianity at Whitby were Colman of Lindisfarne, Hilda of
Whitby and Cedd, the Bishop of Essex. St Wilfrid, a well travelled man
championed the Roman Christian cause and successfully persuaded the
Northumbrians to reject their old ways.

Colman, the Bishop of Lindisfarne resigned and returned to
Iona and was replaced by Bishop Tuda, the first Bishop of Lindisfarne
to practice the Roman ways. Tuda's reign as bishop was short lived and
later in the year he died of plague. Wilfrid was chosen as his
successor and although Wilfrid agreed to take up the post, he
transferred the bishopric from Lindisfarne to York, perhaps to distance
himself from the Christian Celtic traditions of the Northumbrian island.

Wilfrid was keen to prove a point with a staunch adherence to
the strict rules of the Roman church. He claimed that there was no
person in England who could consecrate him as bishop and so headed off
to France to be ordained. This infuriated King Oswy who replaced the
absent bishop with St Chad of Lastingham.

KING ECGFRITH

King Oswy died in 669 and was succeeded by his son Ecgfrith
who allowed St. Wilfrid to return to England and take up the post of
Bishop of York. Wilfrid established a grammar school at St Peters in
York and commenced the building of a new minster in the city. He also
established a new monastery at Ripon.

In the background to these Christian developments
Northumbrian military and political expansion continued and by 672 the
Celts of Cumbria and Dumfries were conquered by the Northumbrians under
Ecgfrith's leadership, whilst the Picts of Caledonia were defeated in
battle. In the following year Ecgfrith would also defeat the Mercians
(Midlanders) in battle. Northumbrian supremacy was once again
confirmed, but Ecgfrith was soon to find himself involved in conflict
away from the battlefield. In 673 he divorced his virgin queen
Ethelreda of Ely in order to marry his new love Ermenburga. The chaste
Ethelreda, under the influence of St. Wilfrid, chose to become a nun
and was given land at Hexham by her former husband. Ethelreda chose to
give her new land to Wilfrid for the building of a monastery. She
herself opted for the coast and established a new monastery at St Abbs
Head (north of Berwick).

The year 674 saw the establishment of what would become one
of the most important Roman Christian monasteries in the north. The
monastery of St Peters, Monkwearmouth was founded by a noble called
Benedict Biscop on land granted by King Ecgfrith. A great library would
develop here, with books from France and Rome and the first coloured
glass in England would be introduced to the monastery by continental
glaziers. Gregorian chanting was introduced and many other advanced
aspects of Christian culture hitherto unknown in the north came to
Monkwearmouth under Biscop's influence.

Meanwhile tensions between King Ecgfrith and Wilfrid
continued to rise and in 678 the king banished Wilfrid from
Northumbria. It is possible that Ecgfrith may have been jealous of
Wilfrid's long standing friendship with his former wife, now a nun at
St Abbs Head. The king broke up Wilfrid's York based bishopric into two
parts with two separate sees centred on York and Hexham. The bishopric
of Hexham extended from the River Tweed to the River Tees whilst that
of York extended from the Tees to the Humber.

Wilfrid, in exile in Europe, turned his attention to the
conversion of the Frisian people of North West Germany. He would return
to Northumbria in 680 but was arrested after landing at Dunbar. Wilfrid
had brought with him papal documents overthrowing the division of the
Northumbrian bishoprics, but the king of Northumbria would not take
orders from the Pope and Wilfrid was imprisoned. He was later released
and fled to Sussex where he converetd the last pagan kingdom in England
to Christianity. Wilfrid claimed that King Ecgfrith had no right to
divide the Northumbrian bishopric, but the king was unmoved by the
papal orders. In fact, in the year 681 Ecgfrith made a further division
dividing the new Bishopric of Hexham into two parts with the
re-establishment of a separate bishopric at Lindisfarne. Hexham's
diocese would now extend from the River Aln to the River Tees.

With his control over the church firmly recognised, King
Ecgfrith turned his attention once more to military matters and for the
first time attempted to take Northumbrian expansion overseas by sending
an army into Meath in Northern Ireland in 684. He may have hoped to
expand his empire into these new lands but nothing seems to have
developed from this particular campaign. One person who had advised the
king against this particular campaign was St Cuthbert. In his younger
days Cuthbert, had become a popular and well respected figure noted,
apparently, for his gift of working miracles and healing the sick.

Cuthbert had retreated to the island of Inner Farne in 676 to
live as a hermit - once a common practice among those who wished to be
closer to God. Despite his hermit lifestyle, Cuthbert was visited by
many, many people in search of healing. The respect he commanded
amongst the people made him an ideal choice for a bishop. In 685 he was
elected as the Bishop of Hexham at a synod near Alnmouth, but he
requested a transfer to Lindisfarne. Cuthbert was consecrated Bishop of
Lindisfarne at York on April 7th in the presence of King Ecgfrith.

KING ALDFRITH

On May 20 685, King Ecgfrith of Northumbria was killed
fighting Brude, King of Caledonia. It symbolised an end to the period
of Northumbrian expansion. One result of the defeat was the abandonment
of yet another Northumbrian bishopric at Abercorn near Edinburgh.
Aldfrith the illegitimate son of the late King Oswy and an Irish
princess, became the new King of Northumbria and although his reign
seemed to signify and end to political expansion, art and learning
would flourish under his rule. Great works of Celtic art would be
encouraged by the new King who had been educated in Ireland.

The year in which Aldfrith succeeded as king, saw Benedict
Biscop's completion of the monastery of St Pauls at Jarrow, a twin
monastery to Monkwearmouth. Among the new students at Jarrow was Bede,
a young boy of nine years old, who had been transferred from Wearmouth
to the new site. Unfortunately plague hit the two monasteries of
Wearmouth and Jarrow in 686, while their founder Benedict Biscop was in
Rome. Fortunately Bede and the Abbot Ceolfrith of Jarrow were among the
few survivors of the plague.

On March 30, 686 St Cuthbert, perhaps sensing his time was
nearing an end, resigned from the post of Bishop of Lindisfarne and
returned to the island of Inner Farne as a hermit. Later that year
Cuthbert died on his lonely island with only sea birds and seals for
company. Northumbria mourned the loss of its best loved saints. St
Wilfrid returned to Northumbria in that year to become Bishop of
Lindisfarne but within two years had transferred to Hexham. He
succeeded St. John of Beverley who retired to become a hermit. Eadbert
replaced Wilfrid at Lindisfarne.

Only four years passed before St Wilfrid found himself once
more at the centre of contoversy. Once again the issue was over the
creation of a bishopric with Wilfrid refusing to allow the creation of
a new bishopric based at Ripon. Wilfrid was banished from Northumbria
and John of Beverley was reinstated as Bishop of Hexham. Wilfrid turned
his attentions to Mercia where he founded at least six monasteries in
the period 691 to 703, but his influence was being felt further
affield. In November 695, a Northumbrian monk called Willibrord, a
former pupil of Wilfrid at Ripon, was consecrated Bishop of the
Frisians. Wilfrid's fortunes in Northumbria would improvd on December
4, 705 when Aldfrith King of Northumbria died at Driffield in the
Yorkshire Wolds.

BEDE AND THE GOLDEN AGE

Weak leadership was beginning to characterise Northumbrian
affairs, but the church was growing from stength to stength and no
religious house was perhaps more influential than the joint monastery
of Wearmouth-Jarrow. On January 12, 690 Benedict Biscop, the founder of
Monkwearmouth and Jarrow monasteries died of palsy. He was succeeded by
Ceolfrith who became abbot of both monasteries. Two years later in 692
Bede, a sholar at Jarrow monastery was ordained as a deacon at the age
of nineteen. By 703 Bede progressed to the rank of priest.

Bede was something of a star pupil and was fortunate enough
to be growing up in one of the most influential and learned monasteries
in Europe. The monks of this monastery were well travelled and their
opinions were respected. In 716 Ceolfrith, the Abbot persuaded the
island monastery of Iona in Caledonia to abandon its Celtic Christian
ways in favour of the Roman style of Christianity. Ceolfrith's
successor continued this work persuading Nechtan, the King of the Picts
to convert to Roman Christianty.

This was an era of great art and literature, which saw the
publication of an illuminated bible called the Codex Amiatinus at
Jarrow and the completion of the beautiful Lindisfarne Gospels at
Lindisfarne in 721. At Jarrow, Bede was writing the Life of St
Cuthbert, a work specially written for the monks of Lindisfarne, but
there were other works for which he would achieve greater fame. A
chronolgical work published by Bede in 725 introduced dating from
Christ's birth - Anno Domini and this was eventually adopted by the
entire Christian world. He did not invent the concept of AD but it is
widely due to him that this system of dating was so widely adopted.

But Bede's greatest work was undoubtedly his History of the
English Church and People completed in the year 731 at Jarrow. He
dedicated this work to King Ceolwulf of Northumbria. It was to become
one of the most important sources of information about the history of
the Anglo-Saxon period and was undoubtedly the first history of England
ever to be written. Bede was one of the most respected figures of his
day and such was his influence that his presence in Northumbria helped
to persuade the pope to upgrade the Bishopric of York to the status of
an Archbishopric in 734. The first Archbishop, Egbert, a former pupil
of Bede would now be independent of Canterbury.

When Bede passed away at Jarrow on May 25, 735 Northumbria
would mourn the loss of its greatest scholar and historian. His name
would be remembered in history for centuries to come. He was the
greatest man of learning of the Anglo-Saxon age and his works would be
known throughout Europe. The joint monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow
were the brightest lights of learning in 'Dark Age' Europe. The age of
Bede was something of a heyday for the Kingdom of Northumbria, but in
the late eighth century Northumbria was plagued with weak leadership
and collapsed into a state of anarchy caused by rivalry between the
royal houses of Deira and Bernicia.

WEAKER KINGS

King Aldfrith of Northumbria, who died in 705 was succeeded by
his son Osred who was only a boy. The boy king was besieged at
Bamburgh, but his attacker Eardulph was captured and beheaded. St.
Wilfrid soon emerged as the young king's protector and adopted faher
and was reinstated as Bishop of Hexham after a synod was held near the
River Nidd in North Yorkshire. But Wilfrid was now well into old age
and in the year 709, he died while visiting his Mercian monastery at
Oundle, Northamptonshire.

Wilfrid was succeeded by Acca as the new Bishop of Hexham and
received burial at Ripon. Remarkably, Osred the boy king held on to
power in the north and in 711 the Northumbrians even managed to defeat
the Picts in battle, preventing the expansion of the Pictish kingdom.
That this was a campaign of defense is perhaps telling, the days of
Northumbrian expansion were now over and as the decades passed the
history of the kingdom would be plagued by infighting.

In 716 Osred, was assasinated at the age of nineteen, near
the southern borders of his kingdom by his kinsmen Cenred and Osric.
Cenred became the new King of Northumbria. He would would only live for
two years before he was succeeded by Osric. Nothing remarkable can be
noted about these two murderous kings and in 729 Osric died and was
succeeded King Ceolwulf, brother of Cenred. Ceolwulf's reign was
characterised by his obsessive religious interests, he was more monk
like than king like and was sometimes ridculed by his people. On one
occasion in 732 he was captured and focibly tonsured - his hair cut in
the style of a monk.

From 737 AD to 806 AD Northumbria had ten kings, of which
three were murdered, five were expelled and two retired to become
monks. It brought an instability to the Kingdom which may well have
encouraged the first Viking raiders to attack the Northumbrian coast
from 793 AD. King Ceolwulf was one of the first of these weaker leaders
retiring from the kingdom in 737 to become a monk. He was succeeded by
Eadbert, an unremarkable king with an unremarkable reign. In 750,
Eadbert is known to have imprisoned the Bishop of Lindisfarne at
Bamburgh for plotting against him. Eventually, like Ceolwulf, hewould
retire from his kingdom in in 758 to become a monk at York.

Eadbert was succeeded by his son Oswulf, the following year
but Oswulf reign for only a few months before assassination at
Corbridge on Tyne on August 5th 759. He was succeeded by the Deiran,
called Athelwald Moll of Catterick, who may have been responsible for
his death. Moll was certainly capable of cold blooded murder, killing a
Bernician noble called Oswin at High Coniscliffe on the Tees in 761.
Moll was not popular with everyone in the north and was eventually
forced out of power on October 30 765 after a meeting was held at
Finchale (near Durham) to decide his future. Moll was succeeded by
Alhred but he too was forced out in less than a decade, by Moll's son
Athelred. And so it goes on, the period seems to be characterised by
little more than one regime ousting another. Athelred was ousted by a
Bernician called Alfwold and a number of royal nobles were murdered at
High Coniscliffe during the coup.

In 788 King Alfwold was murdered by his uncle Sicga at
Chesters on Hadrian's Wall and was buried at Hexham. He was succeeded
by his boy nephew Osred II, but the child fled to the Isle of Man to
escape his enemies and Athelred commenced a second period as King. By
the end of the summer 792 Athelred had drowned a rival Prince in
Windermere and beheaded Osred II at Maryport on the Cumbrian when Osred
returned to the mainland. He then attempted to form an alliance with
Mercia by marrying the daughter of King Offa at Catterick.

Perhaps the ruthless Athelred was the strongest in this
sucession of weak kings, but the kingdom of Northumbria was now a
shadow of its former self. It no longer seemed to have the military
might of the past and its religious affairs were in a state of
collapse. In 782 and 789 emergency meetings or synods were held at
Aycliffe regarding religious matters and church discipline. Similar
meetings were held at Finchale in 792, 798 and 810. The inherent
weaknesses in Northumbria probably did not escape the attention of
people from far across the North Sea, who soon began to raid the
Northumbrian coast.

VIKING RAIDS

On June 8th 793, in an unprecedented attack which shocked the
whole of Europe, a raiding party of Vikings from Norway attacked
Lindisfarne. Monks fled in fear and many were slaughtered. Bishop
Higbald sought refuge on the mainland and a chronicler would record-
"On the 8th June, the harrying of the heathen miserably destroyed God's
church by rapine and slaughter. " In a letter from Charlemagne's court
in France, Alcuin the former head of York School blamed the Viking
attack on a fall in moral standards in Northumbria. He was well aware
of Northumbria's state of disaray and he for one clearly saw the raid
as a punishment from God.

More attacks would follow in 794 with the Vikings attacking
the famous monastery at Jarrow, although on this occasion the
Northumbrians were prepared for the attack and managed to surprise and
utterly destroy the Viking attackers. But further Viking raids on
Lindisfarne and Jarrow would continue throughout the year and by 800
monasteries at Whitby, Hartlepool and Tynemouth were also targets. The
monasteries exposed on the eastern coast of Northumbria were wealthy
treasure houses that were an irresistable target for the Vikings.

King Athelred's reaction to the Viking raids is not recorded,
but by April 18th 796 he was dead, murdered at Corbridge as the result
of a plot by a Northumbrian noble called Osbald who succeded Athlred as
king for just over a month before he was forced out by a new king
called Eardwulf. Eardwulf was ousted in 806 by Alfwold II, but was
restored to power in 808 following Alfwold's death. Eardwulf was ousted
again in 811 and succeeded by Eanred.

Northumbria was by this time a backwater, no longer a big
player in English affairs. This became blatantly clear in 829 when the
most powerful king in England, Egbert King of Wessex and Mercia called
a meeting with Eanred of Northumbria at Dore near Sheffield on the
Northumbria-Mercia border. Dore was literally Northumbria's 'doorway'
to the south.The aim of the meeting was to ensure peace, and the result
was that Eanred was forced to accept Wessex supremacy and recognise
Egbert as the 'overking' of England. Wessex was now firmly established
as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom in England and would remain so
until 1066.

In Northumbria, King Eanred's reign would outlast many other
kings of this period and he remained in power until his death in 840,
when he was succeded by his son Athelred II. Throughout this period
Viking raids continued to be a problem on the Northumbrian coast. In
830 the monks of Lindisfarne were forced to flee the island with the
coffin of St Cuthbert to escape further raids. They settled inland at
Norham on Tweed where a church was built for the saint's shrine, but
this was only the beginning of a long journey that would see them
travel widely throughout the North.

Vikings raids were by a now problem almost everywhere in the
British Isles. In 841 Vikings from Norway established Dublin as their
chief coastal stronghold in the British Isles and Viking colonies were
developing on the islands off the norther Scotish coast. The first
Northumbrian king to fall victim of the Vikings was Raedwulf, who was
killed by Vikings, probably in a coastal attack in 844 shortly after he
had ousted Athelred II from the Northumbrian throne. The fortunate
Athelred was restored and reigned until his death in 848 when he was
succeeded by King Osbert, one of the last AnglIan kings of Northumbria.
In 866 Osbert, the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria was overthrown by
his people and replaced by Aelle II. Osbert and Aelle were perhaps
brothers, but they were linked respectively to the Bernician and Deiran
factions of the Northumbrian royal family and their rivalry was one
aspect of a long running civil war.

Holding onto leadership was a major challenge for the
Northumbrian kings in this era, but in 866 an even greater threat to
the stability of leadership was about to emerge. For seven decades the
Vikings had been raiding the coast of Britain and it seemed inevitable
that they would eventually launch a full scale invasion of our shores.
This is precisely what occurred in the year 866, when a huge army of
Danes, invaded East Anglia from their well established bases in the Low
Countries of the Continent. They arived under the leadership of Ivar
the Boneless and his brothers, Halfdene and Hubba and after camping the
winter, turned their attention to Northumbria.